3 Australia
3G services launched in Australia (well, two cities in Australia) with the arrival of Orange’s “3 Australia“. From a cursory look at what it offers, I’ve formed an opinion (that may not be all that well informed) that this new technology seems to be already plagued by two major problems that will impede its diffusion and adoption. One of the major marketing pushes of 3G networks is the ability to make video phone calls. Technology for the “modern” videophone has been around 1964, but practical considerations and lack of demand have not seen them become a common household object. Video conferencing is only starting to gain acceptance and use in the corporate world. However, I cannot see how video calls on mobile phones can be a major driver in the adoption of 3G technologies, apart from the initial gadget “wow” factor, which is in turn offset by the current affordability of 3G which I’ll look at in a moment. In terms of benefits of video calls, the ability to see someone while conversing implies a richer communications medium, due to the additional non-verbal cues of body language and facial expression and so on. When you are speaking to someone on a one or two inch screen, how much richer is that communication honestly going to be? Is it a novelty or truly useful? Add to this the inconvenience of having to look at who you are talking to whilst on the mobile, and you’ll not be so mobile if you want to talk on the run. Naturally you can choose to fall back to normal voice-only calls, but arguably you’d be doing that a fair bit, which defeats the purpose of video calls being a “main driver” for 3G technology adoption. Furthermore, there’s the social factor of not only you being able to see who you’re speaking to, but everyone else seeing who you’re speaking to, which can lead to reluctance to use this technology in public. Hence, usage is further reduced. Perhaps this will be something people get over as time allows society to adjust (in much the same way that mobile phones are commonplace, and PDAs are not beginning to raise as many eyebrows on public transport as they used to). Societal reaction will play a large part in all of this.
You may be whining about broadband caps now, but when Telstra Big Pond first arrived with cable about 5 years ago, access costs were $50 for the first 100MB and 17c per megabyte thereafter (or something of that magnitude – it was quite ridiculous). I, on my 28.8k dialup connection, was pulling through up to 5GB a month for about $50 a month. No one but the rich cared that they could download at 300kb/sec, because the fact was that you could tear through that in ten minutes and then the fun would be over. Then Optus arrived. In a similar vein, 3G boasts a large increase in wireless mobile bandwidth, opening up the door for all sorts of applications. However, when costs are charged at cents per kilobyte, costs become a major concern for the consumer. So whilst they may take comfort in the fact that the technology is available to them, if they don’t use it it’s little point. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve used WAP on my phone.
All this is not to say that I don’t think 3G is a bad thing. I applaud the quick development of 3G infrastructure in Australia by Hutchison/Orange, and recognise they need to recoop their extensive outlays. I’m of the mindset that you should build technology infrastructure with expandable capacity to be utilised in future, rather than reacting to the demands of the underlying uses of the technology (software and the like), especially as the underlying uses are part of an industry that expands so rapidly in its demands. However, with such a pricing scheme, I cannot see 3G taking off in the next few years, and a failure by 3 Australia in 3G may have negative consequences in terms of inducing the other mobile carriers to hesitate. In this regard, competition is terrific for consumers, especially in the diffusion of the technology. Further hampering efforts are that the Australian telecommunications industry is not well known for its competition producing vastly lower prices (our cable and ADSL caps must be among the lowest in the world).
10:01pm (GMT +10.00) 
The other problem with video phones etc is that you’ve got to have a camera pointed at your position. Or the position you want to see. And that usually means standing still as well. That’s something that would put me off it completely… unless someone wants to invent one of those Star Wars style hovery ball things :DDD
The one thing I like about taking on a mobile is the ability to move around.
As for Big Pond Cable…
BPC was 35c/MB when I was first on it. I don’t think that was the lowest either.
Even now, $80/mo for 3GB is a ripoff.
Video phone can be quite useful!
“Honey, there’s something wrong with my ear…”
“What’s wrong with it dear?”
“I can’t hear anything clearly…”
“Alright, let me have a look.”
“Honey, you’ve got a massive blob of ear wax blocking the sound waves…”
Immediate thoughts?… um… its CRAP! A typical example of a technology developed just for the sake of it. There’s no real demand.
More thoguhts…. There’s gotta be something positive right? Oh yes! Stu, I actually look at this from another perspective. Rolling out the current 3G network is more about showing off the “underlying infrastructure”, showing off the “possibility” of mobile technology! Hutchinson/Orange is showing it off now to let other people do the task of finding a suitable application on their infrastructure. But they can’t introduce the infrastructure with nothing, hence, video phones came out of the blue! Other telco players may find the 3G infrastructure more useful for something else. Perhaps, someone from somewhere may find a “meaningful” solution that operates on the 3G infrastructure.
Mate from BIT: that killer application is “wireless data”, but at between $5 and $7.50 per mega-byte Hutch will stiffle any potential innovation in this area. At these rates, expect nothing but $1 per minute video calls and dicky little handset apps. It’s a damn shame that the data pricing is so high, at these rates Hutch will die very fast indeed and WiFi hotspots will continue spread and be the preferred wireless broadband access method.
A victory for Marketing hype…
There’s a helllllll of a lot of money to be made from mobile devices/networks and everyone knows it.
As far as I can tell though, current attempts are poor at best.
What you see on the ad : Hot chicks with flashy video phones taking photos of you flying through the air.
What we seem to get ATM : Games that are no more than colorised versions of tetris and low-res digicam capabilities.
SMS is the only thing so far that has that critical mass…Try as the carriers might. But they, time will tell!
A victory for Marketing hype…
There’s a helllllll of a lot of money to be made from mobile devices/networks and everyone knows it.
As far as I can tell though, current attempts are poor at best.
What you see on the ad : Hot chicks with flashy video phones taking photos of you flying through the air.
What we seem to get ATM : Games that are no more than colorised versions of tetris and low-res digicam capabilities.
SMS is the only thing so far that has that critical mass…Try as the carriers might. But they, time will tell!